Monday, September 13, 2010

The world largest video sharing service, YouTube is testing a new live streaming platform. The trial would continue for two days - September 13-14. The new service begins as a limited trail with four participating partners. YouTube had previously hosted live streaming of events such as the U2 concert at Rose Bowl and season three of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and many more. YouTube will evaluate the results of the test before planning a roll-out for its partners worldwide.

This new platform integrates live streaming directly into YouTube channels; all broadcasters need is a webcam or external USB/FireWire camera, when it is made available. Included in the test is a “Live Comments” module which lets you engage with the broadcaster and the broader YouTube community.

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With the new service YouTube adds to the competition of websites such as, ustream.tv, livestream.com and justin.tv. YouTube's IPL live streaming had exceeded the website's expectations. The official IPL channel on YouTube racked up nearly 55 million views, against YouTube expectations of around 10 million streams.